Brian Lynch (musician)
Encyclopedia
Brian Lynch is a Grammy Award-winning New York
based Jazz
trumpeter, currently touring and recording as a member of the Phil Woods
Quintet and Eddie Palmieri
's Afro-Caribbean Jazz group, as well as leading his own groups and appearing with various other bands including the "Latin Side Of Miles" project he co-leads with trombonist Conrad Herwig
.
In recent years Lynch has worked with Buena Vista Social Club
alumnus Barbarito Torres
, recorded with dance remixers Joe Claussell
, Little Louie Vega
and the influential Latin alternative group Yerba Buena
. He arranged for Japanese pop star Mika Nakashima
and producer Shinichi Osawa, has written string charts for Phil Woods
, and has played with such pop luminaries as Maxwell
, Prince
, and Sheila E.
On February 11, 2007, Brian Lynch earned the Best Latin Jazz Album of the Year Grammy for his album, "The Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri Recording Project - Simpatico," at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.
, and attended Nicolet High School
. He apprenticed with pianist Buddy Montgomery
and organist Melvin Rhyne
, while earning a degree from the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music
. While living in San Diego 1980-81, he gained further valuable experience in the group of alto master Charles McPherson.
Lynch moved to New York in late 1981 and was soon hired by Bill Kirchner, performing and recording with Kirchner's nonet. He was a member of the Horace Silver
Quintet (1982-1985) and the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra (1982-1988). Simultaneously, he played and recorded on the Latin scene with salsa bandleader Angel Canales (1982-83) and legendary cantante Hector LaVoe
(1983-87). He began his association with Eddie Palmieri
in 1987, and at the end of 1988 joined what turned out to be the final edition of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. He began his association with Phil Woods
in 1992, and also worked frequently with Benny Golson
around this time.
. There followed Back Room Blues and At The Main Event (Criss-Cross), In Process (Ken), Keep Your Circle Small (Sharp Nine)), and a string of sideman dates with Art Blakey
and Phil Woods
.
A 1997 recording called Spheres of Influence (Sharp Nine), became the first of several Lynch projects displaying a strong Afro-Cuban
influence. During these years he documented cross-cultural investigations with Eddie Palmieri's seminal Afro-Caribbean Jazz Octet on Arete, Palmas and Vortex (Nonesuch and RMM). As the ‘90s progressed, he steadily refined his concept, eventually collaborating with Palmieri as an arranger, co-composer and musical director
. Palmieri collaborated with Lynch again on Simpático
, his project for ArtistShare
.
Lynch has continued to advance the Spheres of Influence concept through collaborations with young Afro-Cuban musicians. These include drummers Dafnis Prieto, Horacio Hernandez, Robby Ameen, and Ernesto Simpson; percussionists Richie Flores, Pedro Martinez
and Roberto Quintero; pianists Luis Perdomo, Edsel Gomez, and David Kikoski; bassists John Benitez, Ruben Rodriguez, and Hans Glawischnig; and saxophonists Miguel Zenon and Yosvany Terry.
and the North Netherlands Conservatory, has taught at the Stanford Jazz Workshop
, and conducted workshops in numerous major institutes of learning, including The Eastman School of Music, Dartmouth College
, the University of North Texas
, and Columbia University
, among many others.
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
based Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
trumpeter, currently touring and recording as a member of the Phil Woods
Phil Woods
Philip Wells Woods is an American jazz bebop alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader and composer.-Biography:...
Quintet and Eddie Palmieri
Eddie Palmieri
Eddie Palmieri , is a Grammy Award winning Puerto Rican pianist, bandleader and musician, best known for combining jazz piano and instrumental solos with Latin rhythms.-Early years:...
's Afro-Caribbean Jazz group, as well as leading his own groups and appearing with various other bands including the "Latin Side Of Miles" project he co-leads with trombonist Conrad Herwig
Conrad Herwig
Conrad Herwig is a jazz trombonist from New York City in the United States. He has recorded 20 albums as a leader.-Biography:He began his career in Clark Terry's band in the early 1980s and has been a featured member in the Joe Henderson Sextet, Tom Harrell’s Septet and Big Band, and the Joe...
.
In recent years Lynch has worked with Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club
The Buena Vista Social Club was a members club in Havana, Cuba that held dances and musical activities, becoming a popular location for musicians to meet and play during the 1940s...
alumnus Barbarito Torres
Barbarito Torres
thumb|Barbarito Torres.Bárbaro Alberto Torres Delgado, best known as Barbarito Torres , is a Cuban musician best known for his work with the Afro Cuban All Stars and the Buena Vista Social Club. Torres plays the laúd, a traditional Cuban instrument of the lute family that is most associated with...
, recorded with dance remixers Joe Claussell
Joe Claussell
Joaquin "Joke Laws-L" Claussell is a New York DJ, music producer, record label owner and former manager of Dance Trax record shop then based in the East Village, Manhattan, New York City, USA....
, Little Louie Vega
Little Louie Vega
Luis Fernando Vager , better known as "Little" Louie Vega, is an American musician and one half of the Masters At Work musical production team...
and the influential Latin alternative group Yerba Buena
Yerba Buena (band)
Yerba Buena is a Grammy-nominated fusion band based out of New York. The project was started by Venezuelan songwriter, producer and instrumentalist Andres Levin, and Singer, Composer Cucu Diamantes who brought Cuban composer Descemer Bueno to New York. All worked together during the conception...
. He arranged for Japanese pop star Mika Nakashima
Mika Nakashima
is a Japanese singer, model, and actress. She has achieved five number-one albums in Japan and also embarked on an acting career, most notably in the live-action movie Nana, based on the manga of the same name.- Early life and debut :...
and producer Shinichi Osawa, has written string charts for Phil Woods
Phil Woods
Philip Wells Woods is an American jazz bebop alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader and composer.-Biography:...
, and has played with such pop luminaries as Maxwell
Maxwell (musician)
Maxwell , is an American R&B, funk and neo soul musician. He played an important role in the development of the soul sub-genre, neo-soul.-Early life:...
, Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
, and Sheila E.
On February 11, 2007, Brian Lynch earned the Best Latin Jazz Album of the Year Grammy for his album, "The Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri Recording Project - Simpatico," at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.
Training
Lynch grew up in Milwaukee, WisconsinMilwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
, and attended Nicolet High School
Nicolet High School
Nicolet High School is a public secondary school located in Glendale, Wisconsin. It is the only school in the Nicolet Unified School District, which serves Glendale, Fox Point, Bayside, and River Hills. Primary schooling is administered by three feeder districts. The Nicolet Unified School district...
. He apprenticed with pianist Buddy Montgomery
Buddy Montgomery
Charles "Buddy" Montgomery was an American jazz vibraphonist and pianist. He was the youngest brother of Wes and Monk Montgomery. He and brother, Monk, formed the "Mastersounds," in the late 50's and produced ten recordings...
and organist Melvin Rhyne
Melvin Rhyne
Melvin Rhyne , is a jazz organist best known for his work with Wes Montgomery.-Early Years:Melvin Rhyne was born in Indianapolis in 1936 and started playing the piano shortly thereafter...
, while earning a degree from the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music
Wisconsin Conservatory of Music
The Wisconsin Conservatory of Music is an independent music school located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The conservatory teaches many types of music, including classical, jazz, rock, folk, and blues...
. While living in San Diego 1980-81, he gained further valuable experience in the group of alto master Charles McPherson.
Lynch moved to New York in late 1981 and was soon hired by Bill Kirchner, performing and recording with Kirchner's nonet. He was a member of the Horace Silver
Horace Silver
Horace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer....
Quintet (1982-1985) and the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra (1982-1988). Simultaneously, he played and recorded on the Latin scene with salsa bandleader Angel Canales (1982-83) and legendary cantante Hector LaVoe
Héctor Lavoe
Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez , better known as Héctor Lavoe, was a Puerto Rican salsa singer. Lavoe was born and raised in the Machuelito sector of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Early in his life, he attended a local music school and developed an interest inspired by Jesús Sánchez Erazo. He moved to New York...
(1983-87). He began his association with Eddie Palmieri
Eddie Palmieri
Eddie Palmieri , is a Grammy Award winning Puerto Rican pianist, bandleader and musician, best known for combining jazz piano and instrumental solos with Latin rhythms.-Early years:...
in 1987, and at the end of 1988 joined what turned out to be the final edition of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. He began his association with Phil Woods
Phil Woods
Philip Wells Woods is an American jazz bebop alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader and composer.-Biography:...
in 1992, and also worked frequently with Benny Golson
Benny Golson
Benny Golson is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger.-Biography:While in high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Golson played with several other promising young musicians, including John Coltrane, Red Garland, Jimmy Heath, Percy Heath, Philly Joe Jones, and...
around this time.
Projects
In 1986, Lynch recorded his first album as a leader, Peer Pressure, for Criss-CrossCriss-Cross
Criss-Cross was an artist's cooperative that formed in Colorado in the early 1970s. Having evolved out of Drop City, the 1960s artists' community, C-C focused on issues surrounding "pattern and structure" and became associated with the 70's art movement "P&D" .In 1974, the five founders, Gene...
. There followed Back Room Blues and At The Main Event (Criss-Cross), In Process (Ken), Keep Your Circle Small (Sharp Nine)), and a string of sideman dates with Art Blakey
Art Blakey
Arthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
and Phil Woods
Phil Woods
Philip Wells Woods is an American jazz bebop alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader and composer.-Biography:...
.
A 1997 recording called Spheres of Influence (Sharp Nine), became the first of several Lynch projects displaying a strong Afro-Cuban
Afro-Cuban
The term Afro-Cuban refers to Cubans of Sub Saharan African ancestry, and to historical or cultural elements in Cuba thought to emanate from this community...
influence. During these years he documented cross-cultural investigations with Eddie Palmieri's seminal Afro-Caribbean Jazz Octet on Arete, Palmas and Vortex (Nonesuch and RMM). As the ‘90s progressed, he steadily refined his concept, eventually collaborating with Palmieri as an arranger, co-composer and musical director
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...
. Palmieri collaborated with Lynch again on Simpático
Simpático (The Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri Project album)
Simpático is an album by The Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri Project, released through ArtistShare in 2006. In 2007, the album won the duo the Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album.-Reception:-Track listing:# "The Palimeri Effect" – 7:53...
, his project for ArtistShare
ArtistShare
ArtistShare is a crowdfunding website and labelWharton Innovation and Entrepreneurship Consulted on 10/12/2011 for musicians and other creative artists which allows them to fund their projects utilizing a "fan-funding" model to allow the general public to directly finance, watch the creative...
.
Lynch has continued to advance the Spheres of Influence concept through collaborations with young Afro-Cuban musicians. These include drummers Dafnis Prieto, Horacio Hernandez, Robby Ameen, and Ernesto Simpson; percussionists Richie Flores, Pedro Martinez
Pedro Martínez
Pedro Jaime Martínez is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He is an eight-time All-Star, three-time Cy Young Award winner, and 2004 World Series champion...
and Roberto Quintero; pianists Luis Perdomo, Edsel Gomez, and David Kikoski; bassists John Benitez, Ruben Rodriguez, and Hans Glawischnig; and saxophonists Miguel Zenon and Yosvany Terry.
Teaching
Lynch has turned increasingly to teaching in recent years. He currently holds faculty positions at New York UniversityNew York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
and the North Netherlands Conservatory, has taught at the Stanford Jazz Workshop
Stanford Jazz Workshop
Stanford Jazz Workshop was founded in 1972 by saxophonist and educator Jim Nadel to create an environment conducive to learning, experiencing and appreciating jazz...
, and conducted workshops in numerous major institutes of learning, including The Eastman School of Music, Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, the University of North Texas
University of North Texas
The University of North Texas is a public institution of higher education and research in Denton. Founded in 1890, UNT is part of the University of North Texas System. As of the fall of 2010, the University of North Texas, Denton campus, had a certified enrollment of 36,067...
, and Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, among many others.
Discography
- Peer Pressure - Criss Cross Jazz 1029 - Recorded December 1986
- Back Room Blues - Criss Cross Jazz 1042 - Recorded December 1989
- In Process - Ken Music 011 - Recorded October 1990
- At the Main Event - Criss Cross Jazz 1070 - Recorded 1992
- Keep Your Circle Small - Sharp Nine Records 1001 - Recorded 1995
- Spheres of Influence - Sharp Nine Records 1007 - Recorded 1997
- Tribute to the Trumpet Masters - Sharp Nine Records 1017- Recorded 2000
- Do That Make You Mad? (Brian Lynch/Tomonao Hara Quintet) - Zoo'T (Japan) - Recorded May 2001
- 24/7 - Nagel Heyer 2047 - Recorded December 2002
- Fuchsia/Red - Cellar Live CL020201 - Recorded February 2003
- Brian Lynch meets Bill Charlap - Sharp Nine Records 1027 - Recorded May 2003
- Que Viva Coltrane (Conrad Herwig/Brian Lynch Septet) - Criss Cross Jazz 1254 - Recorded December 2003
- ConClave - CrissCross Jazz 1271 - Recorded October 2004
- Spheres of Influence Suite - EWE 2008 - Recorded November 2004
- SimpáticoSimpático (The Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri Project album)Simpático is an album by The Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri Project, released through ArtistShare in 2006. In 2007, the album won the duo the Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album.-Reception:-Track listing:# "The Palimeri Effect" – 7:53...
(The Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri Project) ArtistShare AS 0057 - Recorded November 2006 - Bolero Nights for Billie Holiday - Venus VCD 1029 - Recorded November 2008